Status of Limestone teenager accused in infant death unresolved

LIMESTONE, Maine — A hearing to determine whether a Limestone teenager will be tried as a juvenile or an adult in connection with the April death of his 3-month-old daughter could be held in December, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson said Tuesday.

The bind-over hearing had originally been scheduled to take place in August, but it was postponed shortly before the scheduled date.

Nicklas Jones, 17, pleaded not guilty to a charge of manslaughter in May in Caribou District Court.

Jones is charged in the death of 3-month-old Joselyn Jones, who died April 27 at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor from injuries she reportedly suffered four days earlier. Maine State Police investigators said the baby died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Police allege that her father threw the baby into her crib on April 23 to stop her from crying.

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After the baby was injured, she initially was taken to Cary Medical Center in Caribou and then transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where she died four days later.

Jones was arrested on May 1 and is being held at Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston.

Benson said the state is pushing for Jones to be tried as an adult because he is “chronologically almost an adult” and there are inadequate options in the juvenile system to treat Jones.

Benson added that the state has completed a forensic diagnostic evaluation of the 17-year-old, adding that his attorney, Anthony Trask of Presque Isle, also is having such an evaluation conducted.

A status conference on the case was held Oct. 2, which led Benson to speculate that the bind-over hearing would be held in December.

If Jones is convicted of manslaughter as an adult, he faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. If convicted as a juvenile, Jones could be sentenced to remain at the Charleston correctional facility until his 21st birthday.